There’s no time left for the Ottawa Senators to deliver Evander Kane-type excuses.

They need to wake up. In a hurry.

While the Senators will catch a break Tuesday against the Buffalo Sabres — Kane was suspended by the team for missing practice Monday after attending Sunday’s NBA all-star game in Toronto — their atrocious starts to games have turned the current week into a pivotal week in the desperate quest for a playoff spot.

The Senators have allowed the first goal in 38 of 57 games, usually the kiss of death in the NHL.

If the Senators can’t solve the not-so-small detail of slow starts this week at home against Buffalo, Carolina on Thursday and Detroit on Saturday in their desperate quest to get back into the playoff race, they’ll be facing a big-picture reality.

Countless players risk being shipped out next week, in advance of the Feb. 29 trade deadline.

“We’ve addressed some things, how we prepare in the locker room,” said defenceman Patrick Wiercioch. “We have a different attitude. Having (Dion) Phaneuf here, he’s definitely a vocal guy, and that kind of adds to the intensity even before we go out for warm-up.

“There are changes in the locker room that a lot of people don’t see, don’t hear about, but they’re happening. Hopefully, those are the little things that give us that one bounce that we can get rolling with it.”

While Phaneuf has played well since arriving from Toronto last week, it hasn’t changed the results. The Senators are 0-3 with him in the lineup, five teams and eight points out of the final wild-card spot before Monday’s games.

Senators coach Dave Cameron took the unusual step of not running practice Monday, attending meetings while leaving the workout in the hands of assistant coaches Rick Wamsley, Andre Tourigny and Jason Smith.

“Sometimes, it’s just better to freshen some things up, that was all,” said Cameron.

Cameron says the Senators are their only worst enemies, forcing plays that don’t need to be made.

“We get stubborn (and) impatient when the game is on the line, we try to create stuff on the offensive side of the puck rather than staying the course,” he said. “That’s our biggest challenge as a team, trusting the system.”

The Senators are also trying to squeeze the most out of top centre Kyle Turris, who isn’t close to full health, while dealing with a lower-body injury. Turris has gone pointless in his past nine games and hasn’t scored since Dec. 14, a stretch of 20 games.

“I’m just trying to help the team, that’s all I’m focusing on,” said Turris, when asked about his health and the slump both he and the team is going through. “It’s frustrating, very frustrating. I’m going to try in any way I can.”

During the slide, the games have followed a familiar pattern. The Senators fall behind early and make a late push before falling short. Turris is at a loss to explain why the Senators seem to have more energy when they are trailing.

“Maybe it’s easier to play that way, when you’re not worried about making mistakes or something,” he said. “Or maybe we almost need (the other team) to score to be a wake-up call. We feel like we’re ready to go into the games. We’re excited. We’re intense. We’ve approached games differently to get out of that slow-start funk.

“It’s an interesting question. We’re still looking for the answer.”

Cameron didn’t name his starting goaltender Monday, but there will likely be at least one change.

Defenceman Mark Borowiecki, who left Saturday’s game against Columbus after hitting his head into the boards, didn’t practise Monday. Centre Mika Zibanejad was also sick and didn’t take part in the workout. If Zibanejad can’t play, the Senators will need to recall another forward from Binghamton of the American Hockey League.

No matter who ends up playing, the Senators insist staying positive is vital.

“We’re trying to take out all the negativity in the room,” said defenceman Cody Ceci. “We’re trying to get back to what was working (late) last year. We didn’t have the pressure of making the playoffs and people counted us out. We were playing for each other, playing for fun.”

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There’s no time left for the Ottawa Senators to deliver Evander Kane-type excuses.

They need to wake up. In a hurry.

While the Senators will catch a break Tuesday against the Buffalo Sabres — Kane was suspended by the team for missing practice Monday after attending Sunday’s NBA all-star game in Toronto — their atrocious starts to games have turned the current week into a pivotal week in the desperate quest for a playoff spot.

The Senators have allowed the first goal in 38 of 57 games, usually the kiss of death in the NHL.

If the Senators can’t solve the not-so-small detail of slow starts this week at home against Buffalo, Carolina on Thursday and Detroit on Saturday in their desperate quest to get back into the layoff race, they’ll be facing a big-picture reality.

Countless players risk being shipped out next week, in advance of the Feb. 29 trade deadline.

“We’ve addressed some things, how we prepare in the locker room,” said defenceman Patrick W